Recent rape allegations sparked nationwide protests in Australia, with tens of thousands of women marching to call for gender equality and an end to sexual violence
Recent rape allegations sparked nationwide protests in Australia, with tens of thousands of women marching to call for gender equality and an end to sexual violence AFP / William WEST

KEY POINTS

  • The teen said she was raped on several occasions by her uncle and molested by her grandfather
  • Her father raped her as well when her mother was not at home
  • The victim's 49-year-old father has been arrested

A girl from Uttar Pradesh, India, said she was raped multiple times by her father and uncle and molested by her grandfather, police said Thursday.

The 17-year-old girl, whose identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy, filed a complaint Wednesday at the Pune police station in Maharashtra under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, The Times of India reported.

In her complaint, she alleged that when she was in her hometown in Uttar Pradesh from 2016 to 2018, she was raped on several occasions by her uncle and molested by her grandfather.

The girl said she told her father about it, but instead of reporting it, her dad also raped her, according to police.

The victim's 49-year-old father has since been arrested.

"After coming to Pune in 2018, the girl informed her father about the sexual assault incidents by writing on a chit. However, instead of acting against tormentors, the father also raped her on several occasions when her mother was not at home," a police officer said, according to the outlet.

"We have registered an offense against the girl's father, grandfather and uncle and further probe was on," the officer added.

The incident was addressed after the girl recently narrated her difficult experience, over the last six years, before the members of the Vishakha committee on sexual harassment at her college in Pune, where she is currently studying.

"The authorities immediately approached the police station and a case was registered. A probe was launched and her father was placed under arrest. We will arrest the uncle and grandfather, who are at the family's village in [Uttar Pradesh]," said the senior inspector-in-charge at the police station where the case was registered.

The case has been referred to the local Women and Child Welfare Department, and counseling support is being given to the victim, The Indian Express reported, citing a deputy commissioner of police under whose jurisdiction the case was registered.

Further investigation is underway in the case.

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